Beet-harvester.



J. D. DENBURGER.

BEET HARVESTER APPLICATION FILED NOV- 8,1915.

Patented Sept. 25, 191-7.

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WITNESSES A *m WJZMW ATTOR N EY J. D. DENBURGER.

BEET HARVESTER.

'APPLQCATION FILED NOV. a, 1916.

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WITNESSES ATTORNEY J. D. DENBURGER.

Patent-ed Sept. 25, 1917.

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ATTOQNEY J D. DENBURGER.

BEET HARVESTER.

APPLICATION FILED Nov. 8. 19 16.

.Patentedsept. 25, 1917.

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JOSEPH D. DENBURG-ER, OF LENTS, OREGON.

BEET-HARVESTER.

Application filed November 8, 1916.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOSEPH D. DENBURGER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Lents, in the county of Multnomah and State of Oregon, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Beet-Harvesters, ofwhich the following is a specification.

This invention relates to beet harvesting machines, and moreparticularly to. a machine adapted to hold beets and top them and conveythe topped beets to a wagon or other suitable vehicle.

One of the main objects of the invention is to provide a machine of thecharacter stated of simple construction and operation which may beproduced at relatively small cost. A further object is to provide amachine having means for securely holding beets during the toppingoperation. A still further object is to provide a machine with means forseparating the tops from the beets and for conveying these tops to areceiving basket or hopper. Further objects will appear from the detaildescription.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a side view of the machine,

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the same,

Fig. 3 is a section on line 33 of Fig. 1,

Fig. 1 is a section on line 4.l of Fig. 1,

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary detail of the dirt shield and one of thedeflectors,

Fig. 6 is a section on line 66 of Fig. 5,

Fig. 7 is a detail of the means for adjusting the topper frame,

Fig. 8 is a section on line 88 of Fig. 7

9 is a fragmentary detail front view of the topper mechanism,

Fig. 10 is a detail of the bracket arm for supporting the shaft fordriving the topping means and the top conveyer,

Fig. 11 is a detail view of one of the diggins members. y x

The main frame of the machine consists of the parallel side bars 1 andthe brace bars 2 mounted beneath the same and in spaced relationthereto. This frame carries the rear axle 8 on which are secured theground wheels 4. Each side bar 1 is provided, at its forward end. with agoose neck 5 secured thereto the upper end of which is loosely securedto an angle plate 6 carried by the pillow block 7 supported on the frontaxle 8 on each end of which is secured the front ground wheel 9. Atongue 10 is carried by the pillowblock 7 and isprovided with a"Specification of Letters Patent. Patentedstpt. 25, 1917..

Serial No. 130,221.

double tree 11 adapted to receive two swingle trees, not shown.

Mounted above each side bar 1, is a beam 12. This beam is pivotallysecured at its front ends to the goose neck 5, as at 13. These beamsextend between two standards 1 1 secured to the side bars 1 of the mainframe. A transverse shaft 15 is rotatably mounted in the upper ends ofthese standards, and is adapted to be rotated by means of a crank 16.This shaft may be secured in rotary adjustment by means of a ratchet 17secured thereon which is engaged by a spring pressed pawl 18 mounted onone of the standards. A cable 19 is secured to the shaft 15, near eachend thereof. The outer end of this cable is secured to the beam 12, asat 20. By this means, by rotating the shaft 15, the two beams may beadjusted about their pivotal axes as desired, and may be secured in thisadjustment by means of the ratchet 17 and pawl 18.

The beams 12 carry a supplemental frame which supports the beetreceiving hopper and the digging and topping mechanism. Thissupplemental frame is composed of two spaced approximately rectangularframes each of which consists of a front bar 21 and a back bar 22 whichare disposed approximately vertical and are connected at their upperends by a brace rod 23 and at their lower ends by a similar brace rod24. These two frames cooperate to form a supporting framefor the spacedrings 25. Each of these rings is of rectangular cross section andeach'of the bars 21 and 22 is provided, at each end, with ananti-friction roller 26 which is directed inwardly and engages under thehorizontal flange of ring 25 so as to rotatably support the same.

The two rings are mounted in parallelism and in spaced relation. as moreclearly shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings. Each of these rings isprovided, at suitable intervals with an integral outwardly projectinglug 27. Each of these lugs is pivotally secured in the bifurcated innerend of a digging member 28. The body portion of this diggging member is,of approximate tapered triangular shape. and is conca ed to form whatmight be termed a scoop. This member is reinforced by an outer rib orenlargement 29. As the machine is drawn forward. the two gers 28 withthe ground.

A sprocket wheel 35 is keyed on a transverse shaft 83 rotatably mountedin depend ing brackets 34. carried by the beams 12 and is connected by asprocket chain 36 to a sprocket wheel 37 keyed on the shaft 38 rotatablymounted on the beams 12 near the forward end of the same. Twospur-pinions 38 are keyed on shaft 38 in spaced relation within thebeams 12 and mesh with-the spurgear rings 39 formed integral with therings 25. By this means, when the machine is drawn forward, the rings 25are rotated forward and downward, as indicated by the arrow in Fig. 1 ofthe drawings. If the inner ends of the beams 12 are raised by the meanspreviously described, the rings 25 will be raised also into inoperativeposition.

Supported within the rings 25 is a beet receiving hopper ll. This hopperis carried by the supplemental frame secured to the beams 12 and is inposition to receive the beets after they-have been topped, in the mannerto be later described. A roller 42 is rotatably mounted at the bottom ofthe hopper ll, near one side thereof. This roller is rotated by means ofa bevel gear d3 keyed on one end of the shaft thereof and enmeshed-witha bevel gear as keyed on .a transverse shaft 45 ro-tatably mounted onthebeams 12. This shaft is rotated from shaft 38 by means of a sprocketchain 39 passed about a sprocket wheel 40 keyed on shaft 38 and asprocket wheel L1 in alinement therewith keyed on shaft 45. This rollerdrives the belt 4L6 of a beet conveyer 47 which is hingedly secured atits lower end. to'the upper end of the discharge spout 48 of a hopper41. This belt passes about a similar roller rotatably mounted in theupper end of the conveyor frame. The roller 42 is driven or rotated insuch a direction that the lower run of belt 4L6 is under tension, andthe upper run will be slack. The belt is provided with a plurality oftransverse strips 419 and is of open fabric construction. By this meansthe beets which are discharged into hopper 4:1 are elevated so as to bedischarged into a wagon or other suitable receptacle at the side of themachine,

the fabric construction of the belt serving to sift out or separate allloose particles of dirt from the beets.

'Mounted below hopper 4L1 is a topping mechanism designated generally bynumeral 50; A transverse shaft 51 is rotatably mounted in the side wallsof the topper shoe or casing 52 of approximately rectangular shape. Thisshaft is carried by a stirrup 53 which is connected by a link 5% to adouble crank rod 55 which is rockably mounted 58"secured through afhandlever 59 pivot- V ally mounted on a platform GOadja'cent the hopper 11.This lever is provided with the usual detent which coiiperates with aquadrant 61 so as to secure the lever in adjustment. By operating thelever the shaft 51, and consequently the topper shoe 52, may be securedin vertical adjustment. Two spiders 62 are secured on shaft 51 in spacedrelation between the vertical arms of stirrup These spiders areconnected by a plurality of spaced cross bars 6-3. The spiders are ofsuch diameter that the cross bars (33, when the shaft 51 is rotated,pass very close to the upper face of the blade 6% se cured in the toppershoe a short distance from the bottom of the same. This blade may beadjusted vertically by means of the adjusting screws 65 rotatablysecured to each end of the blade and threaded through lugs 66 extendinginward from the side walls of the shoe The bottom of the topper shoe isprovided with a central forwardly directed V-shaped slot 67. This slotis a continuation of the inner faces of the spaced inwardly convergingfingers 68 carried by the shoe 52. These fingers form an inwardlytapering passage for the leaves or tops of the beets which serves tohold these tops tightly together during the topping operation.

A bevel pinion 69 is keyed on one end of shaft 51. This pinion isenmeshed with a bevel gear 70 which is slidably mounted on a verticalshaft 71. This shaft is of polygonal cross section and is mountedthrough a sleeve or thimble 7 2 rotatable in a collar 73 formed integralwith a rectangular arm 7 1- carried by one of the brackets 3 1. The gear70 is provided with a central aperture corresponding in size and shapeto the cross section of shaft 71, so that the gear will rotate with theshaft but will be free to move vertically thereon. A bevel pinion 75 issecured on the upper end of shaft 71 and is enmeshed with a bevel gear76 keyed on the end of shaft 33. By this means the drum composed ofspiders 62 and cross bars 63 will be rotated at relatively high speedsimultaneously with the rotation of rings 25. A bevel gear 77 is mountedat the lower end of shaft 71 and meshes with a bevel pinion 7 8 keyed onthe forward end of the shaft of a roller 78* mounted in shoe 52 at rightangles to, and rearward of, shaft 51. A conveyor belt 79 is passed abouta roller 80 at the outer end of the outer section 81 of the topconveyer. This belt passes under roller 78 'and about a roller 82rotatably mounted in shoe 52. This belt is so driven that its upper runtravels outwardly, and it is mounta in rear of and closely adjacent thetopper drum. A top receiving basket or hopper 83 is mounted at one sideof the frame of the machine, being supported from the platform 60 bysta-y rods 84 and held in spaced relation-"to theniachine'by a brace-rod8-5. The

outer end of this rod is pivotally secured to the basket 83 and itsinner end is detachably secured to the shoe 52. By detaching the bracerod from the shoe the basket 83 may be rotated about its pivotal axis soas to be emptied, as desired.

The digging members 28 of the rings 25 are in ali-nement transversely ofthe machine thus providing a rotary member having a plurality of pairsof digging elements. Each of the digging members is pivoted so as tohave limited movement transversely of the machine. On their downwardmovement the members 28 pass between two spaced guide rods 86 concentricwith the rings 25. These rods extend about the rearward underportion ofthe rings for approximately one half of the full circumference thereof,and are supported by bracket arms 87 secured to the supplemental framewhich carries the hopper 41 and topping mechanism. These bracket armsare inclined inwardly and are turned over, as at 88. The bars 86 are sospaced that, when the digging members 28 pass between them, thesemembers are forced tightly together at their apexes so as to form aclosed digging element, as in Figs. 3 and 4 of the drawings. Thisdigging element is adapted to fit about and under a beet so as to liftor pull the same from the ground, the beet being held firmly betweenmembers 28. Prior to its removal from the ground, the beet is topped.During this operation, the upper or crown portion of the beet is forced,by the forward movement of the machine, between the converging fingers68 of the bottom of the topper shoe 52. This forces the leaves or top ofthe beet tightly together. When the crown of the beet reaches the innerend of the converging recess or passage 67 the leaves are encountered bythe rods 63 of the rotating topper drum and are forced rearwardlyagainst the cutting edge of the knife blade 64. This blade, togetherwith the forward movement of the machine, acts to sever the crown fromthe beet body. This crown and the leaves carried thereby are thrownrearward by the rotating topper drum on to theupper run of the top belt79 which conveys the tops into the basket 83. When the basket is filledit may be emptied in the manner previously described, the beet topsbeing deposited in piles at intervals along the beet row. After beingtopped the beet is lifted from the ground by the members 28. As therings 25 rotate the beet travels upward and passes from between the rods86. As the members 28 pass from be tween rods 86 they encounter the Vshaped member or point 89 of a pair of spaced opening or discharge rods90 similar to the rods 86. These rods enter between the members 28 andact to spread them apart, as in Figs. 3 and 4 of the drawings. When thedigging members are thus spread the beet which is held between them isreleased and is dis charged into the beet receiving hopper 41 from whichit is elevated and discharged in the manner previously described.

As will be noted from Figs. 3 and 4 of the drawings, the outwardmovement of the digging members 28 about their pivotal axes ispositively limited by the engagement of the lower ends of these memberswith the peripheral faces of the rings 25. If desired, suitable springsmay be provided for normally forcing these members toward each other soas to insure that they will pass between the lower guide rods 86. Thisis not deemed necessary however as, during the forward and downwardmovement of the rings, the digging members will have a tendency to swinginward toward each other about their pivotal axes so that they willenter between the forward ends of the rods 86. It will be evident thatas many pairs or sets of the digging members may be provided as desired,the number depending upon the circumference of the rings 25 and thedistance apart which the beets are planted.

A sheet metal shield 91 is secured in the supplemental frame within. therings 25. This shield extends across the space between these two rings,at the rearward portion thereof, and serves to prevent dirt droppingfrom the digging members downward into the gearing for operating the topconveyor and topping mechanism. This shield is provided, on its outerface, with a plurality of pivotally mounted blades or deflectors 92.Each of these deflectors is provided, at its inner end, with an integralshoulder or lug 93 which engages the shield 91 so as to positively limitthe downward movement of member 92. These members by engaging betweenthe digging members during their downward travel between the rods 86 prevent the dirt from falling from between the same. For this purpose theyare free to rock upward about their pivotal axes, as indicated in Fig. 5of the drawings. After the pair of digging members has passed one of thedeflectors it returns, by gravity, to its initial position.

As will be noted from Fig. 1 of the draw ings, the upper ends of theguide rods 86 are positioned in approximate vertical alinement with therear edge of the beet receiving hopper 41. After the digging membersopen or separate immediately after leaving the rods 86 the beet carriedthereby will be discharged into the hopper. On the other hand, the rods90 serve to positively open the digging members thus insuring the discharge of the beet in the event of these members failing to open afterleaving the rods 86.

There may be slight changes made in the construction and arrangement ofthe different parts of my. invention without departing from the fieldand. scope of the same, and I intend to include all such variations, asfall within the scope of the appended claim, in this application and inwhich a preferred form only of my invention is disclosed.

What I claim is:

In beet harvesters, a pair of spaced rotatably mounted rigid rings, apair of digging members pivotally secured to said rings for limitedmovement toward and away from each other, a pair of spaced guide rodsmounted concentric with the rings and extending about the under and rearparts of the rings for forcing the digging members together during theirdownward and rearward travel, and a pair of spaced rods Copies of thispatent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing theWashington, 1). C.

mounted about the top portions of the rings concentric therewith, therearward ends of said rods being integrally connected to form a V-shapedopening member positioned closely adjacent the upper ends of the saidguide rods and in the path of travel of the digging members for enteringbetween said members and forcing the same apart as they leave the saidguide rods.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JOSEPH D. DENBURGER.

, WVitnesses:

JOHN GUY VVILsoN,

FRANK A. THOMAS.

Commissioner ,of Patents,

